Prisoner of the Mind

by Kal Spriggs

  I hope whatever Shaden finds there is worth it, she thought as she raced away.

  ***

  Halving looked up from his computer screen as his intercom buzzed. “Yes?”

  Misha’s face appeared on the intercom screen. “There’s a riot of some kind that just started over in Queens. ESPSec says there’s definite psychic involvement, InSec just launched one of their fast reaction companies. ESPSec’s response team got hit pretty bad, so they just let us know that they’re about to pull our external security, and they want us to send our reaction team.”

  Halving frowned, “That will leave us extremely vulnerable.”

  “Understood, sir. I don’t think we have much choice. Besides, if the riot gets out of control it could easily spread in this direction. Most of the city’s pretty unstable right now.” Misha looked uneasy. Her homeland rarely suffered the riots and civil disturbances so common to North America. When those things did happen in Eastern Europe, they normally came as political moves organized ahead of time.

  “Alright then,” Halving said. “I think it’s unlikely that our wayward subject’s involved, but your mercenaries have drawn an easy paycheck until now. Take them out yourself… but keep on the edges. We aren’t here to stop riots. Subdue any psychic threats, keep an eye out for the escapee, and return.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll report in when I get on scene,” Misha cut the connection.

  ***

  Shaden had just drawn near the edge of the tree line when he heard a roar of vehicles. He rushed over near the road to see a convoy of twenty or thirty vehicles roar out of the compound’s front entrance. Black government SUVs led the way, followed by a trail of unmarked cars. He shook his head, whatever distraction Primus arranged, it certainly had succeeded. Shaden worked his way back into the trees again and moved towards the border of the park.

  A single lane road separated the park from Halving’s compound. A tall chain link fence walled off an empty stretch of field that looked vaguely familiar to Shaden. In the distance he saw a few buildings that definitely sparked memories.

  Shaden squatted in the shadows at the edge of the roadway and took a moment to collect his courage. He didn’t see the sensors or cameras he knew were there, but he could feel them with his mind. A hundred yards down the road he saw the front gate to the compound, a center of lights and activity.

  Shaden took one last calming breath and then slowly reached out with his mind. He found the two nearest sensors easily. The small bundles of electrical energy seemed to blaze in the otherwise inactive emptiness.

  Slowly he touched those bundles of electrical energy. His whole body seemed to tingle for a moment. A second later the sensors dimmed.

  Shaden crossed the street in a sprint. He climbed the chain link fence and pinched down the barbed wire at the top. He swung one leg over the top of the barbed wire and then shifted his torso over. He felt a moment of panic as his pants caught on something. He fell and hung upside-down for a long minute. His pant leg ripped and Shaden dropped head first onto the ground. He rolled with the impact as well as he could, but the air left his lungs in a rush and his head spun. He felt his concentration slip and the sensors began to come alive again. He rolled to his side and then rose to a crouch as he stumbled away.

  The nearest cover across the field was a cluster of leafless trees near a house. Shaden stayed in a low crouch as he moved away. He fought both to breathe and to stay quiet. He was inside. Now the hard part began.

  ***

  Chapter 26

  The worst part about sleep is the dreams. Dreams of needles and probes, dreams of being out of control… and the worst dreams of all, the dreams where I start to enjoy that power and lack of inhibitions. I try to tell myself that these are just after-effects of their mental conditioning or my own subconscious fears come to light… but I’m secretly terrified that these too are memories, of previous versions of me long erased.

  --Memoirs of Shaden Mira

  The inner ring of Archon has always been my own personnel. The synthetic protein chains and the means to produce them are not something I would allow ESPSec direct control over. Similarly the chemical concoctions that amplify neural interaction. Together, these psionic “drugs” can amplify basic psionic abilities into realms never-before-seen. Of course, while ESPSec assumes they control it like they control my people; they really don’t know the truth…

  --Dr. Jonathan Halving, Project Archon Notes

  “Sir, this is Misha. Looks like ESPSec was right, I’m seeing significant activity. Nothing like our escapee, though.” Misha’s face looked pinched. In the background Jonathan heard the recognizable crackle of small arms fire.

  “Anything you can help with?” Jonathan asked.

  “Not really, sir. It’s a mess. They’ve got local police, InSec, ESPSec, and at least one or two units of military. At least a few of them have no compunctions settling jurisdictional grudges lethally.” Misha winced as the vehicle rocked. Jonathan could see one of the windows crack from an impact. “It looks like Atlanta down here, sir. They’ve got gangs and local vigilante units swarming out of the ghettos.”

  “Has ESPSec’s crowd control not calmed things down?” Halving asked.

  “They haven’t been able to get very far. Local police riot control deployed, but InSec just shoots anyone who surrenders, which starts up a chain of more riots. It’s a mess sir, and it’s just going to get more out of hand. If I didn’t know better, I’d say InSec wants to make the situation worse.”

  “Get back here, Misha. I’ll tell Colonel Givens we’re not going to be any good in there,” Halving grimaced as he cut the connection. Just what he didn’t need, a riot, potentially another insurgency, only a few miles away from his compound. He’d been in Atlanta when the city dissolved into insurgency and violence. He did not want such events taking place near his current base of operations.

  He opened a line to the security room, “Sergeant of the Guard, put us on lockdown. Once our reaction team gets back, no one enters or leaves.”

  ***

  The small boat ground against the rocky beach and eight figures in black rolled over the sides in unison. They splashed over the icy rocks and then through the knee deep snow with no signs of discomfort. Their leader paused for a moment as he raised his rifle and fired a single shot. The suppressed weapon dropped the majority of the sharp crack, combined with the subsonic bullet and the sound of the water on the shore, the remaining sound would be inaudible elsewhere in the facility.

  A moment later the team rushed up to secure the guard shack for that end of the waterfront. The entry man gave the sprawled corpse a quick glance, kicked the dead man’s rifle out of arms reach just in case, and then cut the hard line phone connection.

  North landing is secure, the team leader sent the message with thought alone.

  South landing is secure, he heard in his mind. He smiled, Cheryl was right on time. The two boats would have beached at the same time. Taking down the two exposed guard posts was simple enough, now they would have to cover the open uphill slope to the complex.

  He just hoped that what they found here was worth it.

  Continue to plan, SIGIL will arrive when you complete your mission. The team leader let out a nervous breath. He’d done dozens of similar missions before, but none had so much scrutiny from the leadership of SIGIL.

  He spoke aloud, “Alright, Peters and Taj, keep watch on our escape route. Everyone else, remember your training. SIGIL is watching.”

  ***

  Shaden had just reached the shelter of the trees when a large black truck pulled up in front of the house beyond them. He hugged the ground as the drivers’ door opened and a familiar woman stepped out.

  A sudden impulse gripped him. Her earlier aid gave him curiosity as to her purpose here. He waited and watched in the shadows as she walked towards the front porch. Angel stopped as a man stepped out of the front door. “We’re on lockdown due to a security issue. I’m sorry, but you can’t come in.
”

  “It’s Tuesday night, Ricky. Halving said I get Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,” Angel said. “None of the other guards have problems with the schedule, why do you always have to make problems?”

  “Maybe I don’t like your attitude,” the guard said. “Maybe I just don’t like playing baby-sitter to your little whelp without any kind of benefits.”

  “I’m not going to play your game, Ricky,” Angel said.

  “It’s not a game,” Another guard came around the side of the house. “Doctor Halving put us on lockdown.”

  “What?” Angel sounded surprised, “What’s going on?”

  “Some kind of riot or something, doesn’t matter, you have to leave,” the guard moved forward to stand next to Ricky.

  “I’m not leaving without seeing my daughter,” Angel snapped.

  Shaden felt shock as the two men suddenly gathered energy and gave a light shove of force that knocked Angel back a few feet. “Angel, I know your limits. Don’t force this, or I’ll make sure you lose all your visitation privileges.”

  “I told you, I’m not leaving without seeing my daughter, and if you get in my way—” Angel broke off as another blow of force tossed her back several feet.

  The two guards looked at each other. The one called Ricky gave a sly smile, “You heard her, she just threatened us. Sounds like she needs a lesson.”

  Shaden felt them gather their strength again.

  He felt a spike of rage. Without thinking, he gathered his own energy and sent a wave of force into the two men.

  ***

  “Colonel Givens, I’m afraid I had to order my men to withdraw from the… police actions in Queens,” Halving said, his voice calm.

  “Why is that?” Colonel Givens asked, her brown eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “The situation became unclear. Apparently some of the InSec personnel are having difficulty recognizing ESPSec personnel and their allies in the heat of combat.” Halving kept his voice neutral.

  Colonel Givens scowled, “Yes, I’d heard something similar.” She cocked her head in thought for a moment, “Alright, Doctor, I approve your team’s withdrawal. Unfortunately, my superiors specifically ordered me to send most of my personnel to support the police action.”

  Halving nodded, “Thank you, Colonel.” He rose from his chair and froze, a look of shock on his face.

  “What?” Colonel Givens asked. Her hand dropped to the pistol at her hip, but Jonathan Halving was so surprised that he didn’t even notice.

  He felt the energy release again, so close that it was unmistakable. It seemed the prodigal son had returned. When Halving spoke, his voice was calm and even, though he couldn’t hide an edge of pleasure, “The escaped male subject: he’s here.”

  ***

  Chapter 27

  There has to be some way for us to police ourselves, to prevent the unbalance that occurs when some are strong while others are weak. Perhaps it is too late, perhaps that gulf has become too deep. Stories abound of angry mobs turning on psychic families… and of lone psychics killing hundreds when they snap under the strain. So much blood… yet I can’t help but feel that this is an obstacle that can be overcome. Maybe that’s why I chose this path, maybe the goal is to fix things.

  --Memoirs of Shaden Mira

  Project Archon nears its final stages. I’ve already shut down most of the research and the vast majority of my notes and data has already slipped away. The Bureau of ESP Security has hijacked my project, with the intent of trapping a foe they barely understand. Oddly, if not for my runaway subject, I would have missed all this and I would die when they spring their trap upon SIGIL. As it is, my people will have everything they need to set up for the next phase of my project and if discussions proceed, I may well have new, very powerful, backers.

  --Dr. Jonathan Halving, Project Archon Notes

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Angel growled. Shaden felt little surprise that she spotted him unerringly even hidden as he was. “I was trying to provide you a distraction to slip by. I could have handled them.”

  “You knew I was here?” Shaden asked, surprised.

  She sighed with exasperation, “You could have kept it to me if you’d trusted me in my competence.” She shook her head and walked up the porch steps and through the front door.

  Shaden hesitantly rose to his feet and moved out of the shadows.

  A moment later Angel walked back out, a little girl hugged tightly to her chest. “You don’t have a whole lot of time, now. I’d wager every psychic not drugged up knows you’re here.”

  Shaden hesitated, a dozen questions flashed through his mind.

  Angel slipped thoughts into his head. She bypassed his mental barrier as easily as his mother had. Go... there will be time for questions later. I’ll meet you at the park where you fought Janecek. She stepped past him and a pair sleepy eyes stared at him over her shoulder.

  Shaden smiled at the little girl and pushed his questions to the back of his mind. He would settle for answers from Halving tonight. He broke into a jog towards the nearest of the old brick buildings.

  ***

  Colonel Alicia Givens let a small, satisfied smile cross her face as Halving stepped out of her office. She had never accepted the idea that their rogue experiment subject escaped on his own, much less remained free since without significant help. The nature of Operation Trojan and the significant prize of Project Archon left her with no doubts as to the source of that help. She didn’t know or really care who SIGIL had suborned within Halving’s staff. If things went well, it wouldn’t matter and the blow would cripple SIGIL.

  Colonel Givens connected to a special number on her implant phone. It rang only once before it connected.

  She didn’t wait for the voice to answer on the other end. “Operation Trojan is now in effect,” Colonel Givens said. “I will need all available assets to establish a cordon of the facility and a level five response team to stand by for clean up.”

  General Chou responded, “Acknowledged. Major Wei’s forces are fully engaged, possibly as a result of SIGIL. Response will be delayed while ESPSec forces are diverted from other regions. Are there any additional blue forces in the area?”

  Colonel Givens briefly considered the utility of Halving and his personnel. She weighted that against the danger of what they might learn. Tallied with that was the civilian contractor scientists, the small squad of special forces attached as security, and the handful of government paper-pushers. “No, no friendly forces in the area beyond Trojan and myself. Terminate all other personnel on the grounds.” She felt a slight twinge of guilt about the deaths of the military defense team and the handful of Captain Zhun’s people on perimeter guard. Then again, if they did their job right, they’d probably be dead in the defense of the facility long before they died from friendly fire.

  “Affirmative. Operation Trojan is now active. Good hunting.”

  ***

  Jonathan Halving reached out with his mind to Misha as he stepped out of Colonel Givens office. Misha, this is Halving, time to go active with Blue Rose.

  He could feel the shock in the thoughts of his subordinate. We’re evacuating, sir?

  Halving had spent a lot of time contemplating that. All the information he had suggested that Colonel Givens valued psychics- of any kind- for less than the bullets used to kill them. Trust me, Blue Rose is active.

  Misha answered with only a slight hesitation. Very well, sir, I’ll see you at the extraction site.

  Halving let out a slight breath and then dialed a number on his implant phone. It rang twice and then disconnected. A moment later, he knew, that number would dial the pagers of all his remaining personnel at the facility. That should give most of them enough time to get clear, he thought. If they didn’t heed the warning, then he couldn’t do much more. Halving needed to take care of certain data and experiments. ESPSec might have oversight of the facility and its programs, but Halving would never leave it to them. Especially not
if his suspicions proved true.

  He sensed a tingle of familiar psychic activity and smiled. The fly in the ointment would serve as an adequate distraction.

  He linked his implant with the base wireless network, “Intruder in Section C. Tactical response team report there immediately. All other personnel move to assigned lock-down locations.”

  He reached out with more than his physical senses and felt the surge of confused movement. Civilian contractors made up most of the facility's personnel along with a handful of government drones for paperwork and oversight. The remaining security consisted of the ESPSec agents on perimeter duty and the remaining squad of military Special Forces personnel. They of course moved with smooth precision. His handful of researchers and security personnel moved with purpose towards the prepared evacuation points.

  Jonathan Halving had not expected to be betrayed by ESPSec from the beginning. Nor had he expected evacuation to be a necessity.

  He planned for it anyway. Halving had not lived his long and relatively prosperous life without firm habits about planning for contingencies.

  ***

  Shaden walked through dark and empty corridors, passing offices with scattered papers, open doors, and lights still on. The signs of obvious evacuation suggested that the alarm had gone up. He felt a nervous sweat bead up on his forehead. He didn’t want to hurt anyone here. When it came down to it, he didn’t want to kill anyone, not even Halving. He did not want a fight.

  A sudden trample of boots in the corridor ahead warned him to expect one anyway.

  ***

  Sergeant First Class Tommy King advanced down the corridor with his M24 rifle at the low ready. By the book, as the senior NCO in the response team, he should not have been the point man on the team. As the man with the fastest reflexes and the company record time for the shoot house, no one else could be a better choice.